About
Think of podcasting like an internet radio show…but we answer your emails! We’re on demand too: you can choose any topic and listen to it any time. This show is all about travel, especially independent travel.
It’s run by Craig and Linda — full-time travellers — and aims to bring you some tips and topics from the world of independent travel. We normally give some travel advice, but on the second Friday of each month we review a product or service that we’ve found useful. On the last week of the month we bring you an interview from someone we’ve met along the way.
Please vote for us in the “Best Podcast” category of the 2008 Bloggers’ Choice Awards.
This is the only major blogging competition we’re entering this year and we’d be so stoked to win it. Stoked is Kiwi slang for very, very happy.
It’ll only take two minutes to set up an account and hit vote. Please do.
We try to release an original 15-20 minute show every Friday. We’re constantly “on the road” and don’t have a regular internet connection; our apologies if we miss our deadline!
We’re young and we love to travel. There’s no getting around it. So we scrimp and save and get out on the road as much as we can. We have to make every dollar (or currency of choice) count while having a great time. The Indie Travel Podcast should help you do that too.
Craig and Linda discuss what the Indie Travel Podcast hopes to be in our forty-sixth episode.
In the Press
For the intrepid traveler, there’s the Indie Travel Podcast (www.indietravelpodcast.com), which features the travels of a New Zealand couple and includes subjects like Accommodations, Reviews, and Equipment.
PC Magazine, June 2008
“If you’ve just finished Uni or are on a gap year or you’re simply sick and tired of the nine to five lifestyle then why not get a few tips and a bit of advice from these experienced budget travellers.”
Podfinder UK, December 2007
Any one who has made up their mind that budget travel is for them should give this podcast/website combo I [sic] try.
Surviving the twenty-somethings, December 2007
“…One of Europe’s leading travel podcasters…”
ExplorerPod.com, September 2007
There are two types of people in this world — those who love tourist groups and those who’d rather die than experience the world with a bunch of weird strangers (we’re not judging, we’re just sayin’). If you fall into the latter category, check out the Indie Travel Podcast…Episodes, covering everything from travel tips and reviews to personal stories, are enlightening, informative and always frank.
Rachel Leibrock, the Sacremento Bee, August 14, 2007.
About Craig and Linda
Linda and Craig got married in April 2002, and created Mars Hill in early 2003. They both studied at Auckland University, graduating in 2002 with Bachelors of Arts. Furthering their love of study, they achieved A passes in the University of the Nation’s TESOL school in 2003 and completed an Introductory Certificate in Pastoral Care in 2004. In 2005 Craig pursued his interest in Biblical Studies while Linda completed a Certificate in Professional Editing and Proofreading.
Craig’s personal interests include media, philosophy, spirituality and Taekwon-do, in which he holds a first degree black belt. Linda enjoys reading and human sciences. Together they like to tramp (hike) and, like many New Zealanders, travel − so far they have visited five continents and have plans for a couple more.
Interviews
Listen to Craig being interviewed in March 2007 [6:48m].
Listen to Linda being interviewed in April 2007 [8:33m].
Remember, you can subscribe to the Indie Travel Podcast for free. Find out how here.
Technical details
For all you fellow geeks, here’s what the site is running on. If you would like to start your own travel blog, check Craig’s article on starting a wordpress travel blog. We’re also happy to help you set up your own site (when we have the time online), just ask.
We use Bluehost to supply our hosting. Even their basic US$6.95/month package offers unlimited site traffic and bandwidth which is great for a growing podcast. Their support team is fast and we’ve never had any problems with them.
Most of our coding and recording is done on our trusty, battleworn Apple 12″ Powerbook G4 and Garageband. The equivalent model laptop is the 13″ Macbook Pro. We prefer the Apple workflow to what we used to do on a PC and do recommend them.
We used to record using the inbuilt mic but we’ve since upgraded to a Zoom H2 field microphone. It’s made our lives so much better: sound quality has improved immensely and we can record in many different situations.
The site runs on WordPress which is a content management system. WordPress is free and opensource and takes very little work to install. Get in touch with Craig if you want some help with installs.
The WordPress community are great at developing themes and plugins for anyone to use. We’ve heavily modified the Kampungku 1.5 theme for this site. We’ve also made use of over 20 plugins including PodPress, the Featured Category Slideshow, Google XML sitemaps, Ozh’s Who Sees Ads, Popularity Contest, Subscribe to Comments and WP Cache.
Social networking
We’re part of the following social networks. Join us.
Twitter as itpodcast
Stumbleupon as indietravel
Facebook fan page
Digg as marshill
Flickr as mars-hillUsing this site is governed by the terms of service, viewable here.
